still waiting

We were assured that we would have final pathology results by yesterday, but still nothing.  It's frustrating, as I think how Monday is a holiday so we most likely will not hear anything until Tuesday now.  I did call the office yesterday afternoon and was again assured that our doctor would not let us go the whole weekend without hearing from her.  I want to believe them, so maybe she's actually working this weekend and will call today.  I don't really believe that, though.....I just want to.

So we wait again.  I started getting nervous yesterday, thinking of all kinds of reasons why they hadn't called since I know that they do have the results, but there's nothing we can do.  And Ruth came to mind.  I'm betting that all my Bible study girls are thinking the same thing right now :)  I did a study on Ruth (by Kelly Minter), last summer and then the same one again this spring.  In fact just finished it the day before my first biopsy.

{Here it is, along with a shout-out to my Bible study gals.  Hi ladies!}

Yesterday my mind went straight back to this scene:  Ruth had just really risked everything by proposing to Boaz (not just any proposal either - you have to go read this if you never have!) and had come back to her mother-in-law, Naomi's, house and told Naomi all that had happened.  Ruth had proposed and then Boaz told her to wait for his answer.  He had to find out if another man, a closer relative to her deceased husband, wanted to marry her first.  Can you imagine??  It's a long story, and I promise an intriguing one, that I can't fully explain here.  But she had done everything she could and then just had to wait.  Wait on Boaz.  Wait on the closer relative.  Just wait.  There was nothing she could do but pray and wait for God to reveal what He had in store for her. 

And then Kelly Minter, the Bible study author, also shared a story of a trip to Brazil where a friend said this of the people in Brazil: 

"The people here know how to wait.  They wait for clean water.  They wait for food.  They wait for the floods to recede." 

They don't see it as something to rush or dread.  Instead, their waiting consists of hopeful endurance secured by a promise they know is on its way.  (Kelly's words)

The things we wait for seem so trivial when I think about this.  I've never had to wait for clean water.  I can't even imagine that.  I remember one of the questions in the study guide was to discuss a time when you had to wait on a response for someone, when you had done all you could and now could just wait, leaning on your Savior.  Now I love the fact questions or the inference questions in those Bible study guides cause I love learning and seeing how God weaves everything together, but I hate personal questions because my mind always seems to go blank as soon as it says "personal" right there in black and white text :)  I'm always sure I've experienced almost all that they ask about but can't come up with much of anything when I'm sitting there staring at the words.  I think I could answer any of them now....... probably with a huge paragraph for each.  Perhaps I prayed a little too hard about being able to answer those :)  But I love the author's words about waiting  "....their waiting consists of hopeful endurance secured by a promise they know is on its way."  Hopeful endurance and a promise.  That is how I'm going to try to wait this weekend. 

And I'm clinging to this verse from my friend Stephanie this weekend:

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Exodus 14:14

We're going to be still.  We're going to enjoy the weekend.  We're going to celebrate awesome friends graduating this weekend.  We're going to continue to be so thankful for the friends and family who have taken care of us this week.  We're going to praise God for the good things that have happened and that are to come.  I'm sure we'll still have our moments of frustration.  But we're going to remember to wait like Ruth and to be still.  God is still in control!